Serena sails into semis

Top seed Serena Williams set up a semifinal clash with Timea Bacsinszky at the French Open after defeating Italian 17th seed Sara Errani 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday.

Williams, who is looking for her third title at Roland Garros and 20th career Grand Slam crown, will face Bacsinszky after the Swiss 23rd seed beat unseeded Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4, 7-5 in the day's other quarterfinal tie.

The American had lost the first set in each of her last three matches in Paris but on this occasion she meant business right from the off, breaking immediately to lead 2-0 on the central Court Philippe Chatrier.

The diminutive Errani, who was the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2012 and lost to Williams in the semifinals a year later, broke back straight away but once more she could not hold her own serve and fell 3-1 behind.

Williams then saved another break point against her in the following game with a brilliant cross-court forehand and, with Errani struggling against her opponent's power, she broke again before serving successfully to take the first set in just 27 minutes.

The second set was tighter, going with serve until Williams broke in the seventh game to lead 4-3, and she then went on to clinch victory on her fourth match point in a marathon ninth game as the match concluded in just one hour and five minutes.

Williams was far too powerful for the Italian, producing 39 winners to just nine for her opponent and conjuring 11 return winners against Errani's weak serve.

Bacsinszky is through to her first Grand Slam semifinal after repelling a battling performance by Van Uytvanck on Court Suzanne Lenglen in a match that lasted an hour and three quarters.